Overlay project begins in December on Old Perkins Highway

Nighttime lane closures expected for commuter link

State highway contractors plan to start a nearly $830,500 road overlay project early next month on a key link to Highland Road and Interstate 10 for commuters living in southeastern East Baton Rouge and northwestern Ascension parishes.

State highway officials said Monday that Barber Brothers Contracting Co. LLC will mill and do asphalt overlay, pavement patching, drainage and other work along 1.4 miles of Old Perkins Road, also known as La. 427.

The stretch of Old Perkins to be repaired extends from Highland Road near I-10 south to the Ascension line at the Bayou Manchac bridge, highway officials said in a news release.

Dustin Annison, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation and Development, said Monday that work will begin during the week of Dec. 1 and is expected to last until March.

DOTD officials said that work, requiring the closing of one of Old Perkins’ two lanes, will be done only at night and in the early morning hours during the week or on the weekends.

Also, vehicles wider than 10 feet across cannot pass through the construction zone. DOTD officials warned drivers to expect delays and be prepared to stop.

The project is nearly $87,000 under the estimated construction cost as Barber Brothers beat two competitors in an Aug. 13 bid letting in Baton Rouge, a DOTD bid tabulation says.

Annison said the project is being paid for from the state’s Quality Surface Program, which is repairing 1,100 miles of mostly rural state highways not eligible for federal highway dollars. The program is paid for with long-term debt supported by registration and license fees and taxes from trucks and trailers, the Louisiana Transportation Research Center website says.